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Re: New Employee Problems with Management

I'd be curious as to how long the turkey has been the "Real Writer."
From the sound of it, I'd guess several weeks. I bet it's not even a
real promotion, just a "you take the lead on this and we'll see how it
works."

I'd hang in there for a while and see what develops. There are two basic
possibilities. One is that the "Real Writer" will mature or be corrected
or demoted, and the other is that you have found yourself in a company
that tolerates miserable management. Hang in there until you know which
way the wind blows, but no longer. You don't want to be in a poorly
managed company - bankruptcy and takeovers are neither fun for nor
lucrative to the employees. Been there, done that, lucky to escape with
the T-shirt I was wearing when I got there.

Another possibility is that the "Real Writer" isn't as bad as he sounds.
I've worked with people who said outrageous things and had ideas I
disagreed with who turned out to be diamonds in the rough. The guy who
taught me how to write manuals with the intention of having them used (I
had formal tech writing training at another company, but the manuals
that us enginerds wrote there were intended to hold down bookshelves and
complete a check-box) might have told me he was out to break my
"writer's pride" if I had had any at the time. It's been a while - maybe
he did say it. But he would have smiled when he said it.

Mike Huber
mike -dot- huber -at- software -dot- rockwell -dot- com

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Patgmason [SMTP:patgmason -at- AOL -dot- COM]
>Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 1997 1:00 PM
>To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>Subject: Re: New Employee Problems with Management
>
>Agree with Carolyn Grismore, lots of wisdom there.
>It's not about who's right, it's about who's in charge. If this guy is in
> charge or has the higherup convinced he's good, pack your bags. The eight
>or
> however many fellow writers who agree with you chapter and verse (unless
>they
> are unusually courageous) will all clam up and settle for keeping their jobs
> if it comes to open conflict. And you will be bravely out on your righteous
> limb while this jerk yells 'Timber'.
>
>Just don't let yourself be misled into thinking everyone in the place is on
> your side. Often sympathetic responses will come from higher level managers
> who have no intention of taking your side or giving support. It's called
> 'telling them what they want to hear' and unfortunately it is the dominant
> management technique in small businesses.
>